Govt Debuts INR 750 Cr AgriSURE Fund To Back Agritech Startups

SUMMARY

The SEBI-registered Category II AIF will support startups by offering both equity and debt funding to agritech and rural area-focussed startups

While the Centre and NABARD will pump INR 250 Cr each, the remaining INR 250 Cr will be mobilised from banks, insurance companies, and private investors

The agriculture ministry also launched an integrated agri-investment portal Krishi Nivesh, with an aim to centralise investment opportunities and agri-related information

The union agriculture ministry on Tuesday (August 3) launched an INR 750 Cr ‘AgriSURE’ fund (Agri Fund for Start-ups & Rural Enterprises) to back agritech and rural area-focussed startups.

The fund is a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-registered Category II alternative investment fund (AIF) which will support startups by offering both equity and debt funding.

In a statement, the ministry said that the union government will pump INR 250 Cr into the AIF while National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will infuse another INR 250 Cr in the fund. The remaining INR 250 Cr of the total corpus is being mobilised from banks, insurance companies, and private investors.

The fund was launched at a mega event that was attended by union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ministers of state (MoS) for agriculture and farmers’ welfare Bhagirath Choudhary and Ram Nath Thakur, among others.

“Our vision is to empower every farmer and the launch of the AgriSURE Fund is a testament to our unwavering dedication to the agricultural sector. The government will relentlessly strive towards ensuring increased production, reduced cost of production for farmers, remunerative prices for farmers, crop diversification, preventing post-harvest loss and safe guard during crop loss through crop insurance,” said Chouhan.

The event also saw the launch of an integrated agri-investment portal Krishi Nivesh. Chouhan said that the platform will transform the agricultural landscape by centralising investment opportunities and information.

He said that the portal is a comprehensive platform designed to enhance agribusinesses, attract investments, and improve farmers’ income. “It aligns with our vision of modernising agriculture through technological advancements and innovative practices,” the minister added.

The development comes just a day after the union cabinet approved the INR 2,817 Cr digital agriculture mission (DAM) that will leverage emerging technologies to build digital public infrastructure (DPI) to boost the ailing farming sector.

While AgriStack will pave the way for creation of farmer IDs, modelled after Aadhaar, Krishi Decision Support System envisages the creation of a comprehensive geospatial ecosystem to bring all remote sensing-based information on one platform.

Additionally, the mission will also create detailed soil profile maps spanning nearly 142 Mn hectares of India’s agricultural land.

India is home to more than 1,000 agritech startups that leverage new technologies such as internet of things (IoT), AI and machine learning (ML) to offer farm-centric services to streamline agriculture. As per an Inc42 report, India’s agritech sector is poised to become a $25 Bn market opportunity by 2025.